Newly-elected Hall of Fame linebackers Ray Lewis and Brian Urlacher will be followed to Canton by their former teams as the Ravens will play the Chicago Bears in the 2018 Hall of Fame Game.
As many speculated with Lewis being a headliner inductee, the Ravens will participate in the annual exhibition game at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium in Ohio on Thursday, Aug. 2. The 8 p.m. kickoff will mark the first time in team history that the Ravens will play in the Hall of Fame Game.
Lewis, Urlacher, and the rest of the Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2018 will be enshrined on Saturday, Aug. 4 with a significant contingent of Ravens fans expected to be in attendance.
Tuesday’s announcement means John Harbaugh’s team will play five preseason games this summer instead of the traditional four and will be permitted to start training camp as early as July 18, a week earlier than normal. Despite the benefit of extra practice time, participating teams usually proceed with great caution in the Hall of Fame Game by resting most of their prominent players as Dallas and Arizona each held out upwards of 30 players in last year’s contest.
The Bears will be playing in the Hall of Fame Game for a record-tying fifth time and are coming off a 5-11 campaign that included a 27-24 upset victory over the Ravens at M&T Bank Stadium last October. Four of Chicago’s five victories last season came in a clean sweep of the AFC North.
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